Review: Solitary – The Diseased Heart of Society

Long running UK thrashers Solitary have just released their third full length record at the start of March, and ‘The Diseased Heart of Society’ is yet another step towards riffageddon in terms of pure, blistering thrash metal. Blessing us with this release is the excellent UK Extreme Metal Records, and a more potent record they may struggle to release this year!

Opener ‘Wait’ comes roaring out after the ‘Blackened Skies’ intro with galloping riffs and some cool as fuck chugging sections. Also, I’m totally distracted about how vocalist Richard Sherrington sounds so much like Lee Dorian of Cathedral, and am now imagining a psychedelic doom/thrash crossover band. Musically, the main leads come from old school Exodus and there’s also some cool rumbling riffage in the crushing ‘Trigger Point Atrocity’.

Highlights include the rampant ‘The Edge of Violence’ which could be a lost cut from ‘Tempo of the Damned’, and the killer title track that shoots lightning from its fretboards. Solitary have got what seems like an endless stream of superb riffs cultivated from almost 20 years of Bay Area thrash worship, from the Death Angel-esque ‘Unidentified’ to the more Megadeth like stomp of ‘Anthem of Regret’. Solitary are a band that are not to be trifled with, because carrying this much riff power around must be dangerous!